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Differences in good and bad heims?

A

a_hiatt

NAXJA Forum User
Location
effingham, IL
I built a new steering a year+ ago and the heims kind of went bad after a while, they were semi cheap so no biggie. i got several replacement heims a month or two ago and i'm not happy with them. they were really cheap, probably the cheapest ever made. it just feels loose in the front and is very, very, very annoying. all of the control arms and tight and the hubs are fine, but it's still loose. so before i drop big bucks on really good heims, i want some backup opinions. how good and tight do you think a heim can feel and which ones specifically are you running.

it's knuckle to knuckle steering and i'll also be using them at both ends of the trac bar i built
 
Heim joints quality is directly related to the price. There should be no slop in the joint at all. If there's slop, it's worn out. You should pay $25-35 for a good enough quality joint.
 
figured so, got specifics on your joints? QA1 is popular i know but they make a hundred different types and style. i use 5/8 through bolt and 3/4 shaft and 3/4x3/4
 
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Basically all rod end companies make a good product. I mostly use FK because that's what the local race shop carries. Just go by the price, if it's around $30 it's good enough. You can look up the rod end companies web sites to see specs, that way you'll know the part numbers of the good ones. For steering, you don't need to best/most expensive ones, just not the cheapest ones. Middle of the road should work fine.
 
There is one out there (not sure the brand) that is studded. There is no bolt that runs through. The top is smooth and this allows for greater operating angles. They are greasable as well. I used them on my steering rods with good results. They were about $40 a pop. The only negative comment I have for them is that when it came time to change them, it was really tough to get a wrench on the part you have to hold to loosen the nut. I rounded two of them off. It gets ugly after you do that. Now I use the bolt through for that very reason.
 
There are MAJOR differences in heim joints....and I will have to agree with Goatman, that price with these usually means good quality. Our team at school learned our mistake the hard way....we meant to buy high quality heims, but we got excited and drove it with the cheap ones. Well...there's 230 bucks down the drain for skimping 25 bucks. caused the rod end on teh air shox ot misalign way beyond it's max, and just ripped the end off...then got caught inside the rim....wonderful

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170272_106_full.jpg


get heims that are hard to move even with a bolt for leverage...if you can move the ball with your fingers, they're junk.

go for FK, Aurora, or QA1...not sure of any other high quality ones but them

_nicko_
 
I just talked to RK on the new RK joint, I wanted to see if it would work on the X factor steering. Tech that I talked to said it wouldn't be a good idea for steering because of the deflection. I think I will replace the original RK joints with some QA1's and use the RK's as spares. I have about 5K on mine and they are still tight, just not as tight as I think they should be.
 
KarlVP said:
TRE's are much better for steering than Heim joints.

I get the ones with the kevlar insert from RE for about $35 a piece.
Click to expand...
That's a bit simplistic, isn't it?
Both heims and TREs have their pros and cons.

Aurora teflon sleeved AM/AB series is a good $35 heim.
Their XAM/XAB series is an extremely strong (>55,000# radial load capacity for 3/4") heim for around $55.
 
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